More Than Human

Chapter 11

I slightly changed Chapter 9. The girl with telekinesis isn't African and is just described with brown hair.

June 9th

I gasped slightly. "No, we didn't. So... How'd you know?"

Everybody, including Lea, was completely shocked, their eyes wide and their bodies stiff.

"I-I don't know. I just... knew." It unnerved me to see her so uncertain. Lea's always so... sure. Well, mostly. It reminded me of how completely, utterly, changed our lives were now.

"It was the experiments," said Fay. "That's how you knew."

To our surprise, Lea started to cry. We all crowded around her, asking if she was alright, even though she obviously wasn't.

Then I thought about what I would want if I was Lea. Would I want people crowding around me? No. "Guys, give her some space," I said, backing away.

Gloria and Fay left reluctantly.

"Do you want us to leave?" I asked Lea gently. She nodded.

"Okay." I turned to Gloria and Fay. "What do you want to do?"

"Go meet the V1s?" suggested Fay.

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Emily was in the common room with a few other V1 girls, lounging on a couch. As soon as we walked in, she greeted us. "Hi! You guys remember me, don't you? I'm Emily."

"We remember you," said Gloria with a smile.

"Who's everyone else?" asked Fay. I didn't talk. I only talk to people I don't know when nobody else volunteers. And Fay would have no trouble keeping a conversation, unlike me.

"This is Sophie, Jamie, Tessa and Katie," said Emily, pointing at each girl.

Sophie and Jamie, who looked like sisters, maybe fraternal twins, smiled and waved. Katie raised her hand slightly and Tessa just looked unimpressed.

"I remember you!" exclaimed Gloria, directing the comment at Tessa. "You were way ahead of everyone at swimming!"

"Well, that's because I have water powers," she said. Her voice was creepy. It felt cold and without feeling, the complete opposite of Emily's almost-too-friendly-ness.

"Really?!" Fay seemed about to burst. I smiled in amusement. "Show me!"

Tessa glanced at Emily. Emily nodded. Tessa raised her hands, palms extended, and as we watched in amazement, water gushed out of them. Then she made fancy twirly gestures with her hands and the water swirled around in the air. Finally, she spread her hands and it evaporated.

Gloria clapped, and soon we all joined in. "Who's next?" asked Emily enthusiastically.

"I'll go," said a shy voice. It was Katie. All of the V1s stiffened, like there was something wrong with her demonstrating. She raised her hand, and one of the chairs floated up and hovered in midair. The V1s relaxed. Strange.

Next it was Sophie, who read our minds. That creeped me out even more than Tessa's monotone. I was thinking about bagels. Don't ask.

Then it was Jamie, who formed a ball of light in her hand, then Emily disappeared right before our eyes and snuck up behind us and poked me. I screamed and jumped into the air.

"Emily!"

Everyone laughed, except for Tessa. But she did smile, albeit very slightly.

We hung out a bit more and I eventually warmed up to them. Sophie was really nice, but she still creeped me out, no matter how many times she promised she only reads people's minds if necessary. I got Fay to ask her if she and Jamie were sisters and she shrugged and said, "I think so. Maybe, maybe not. No one told us, but sometimes they show us charts of our genes and they look really similar."

"Why do they do that?" I asked.

"They show us the differences between us and regular humans. They think we'll find it interesting, like they do, but it really just freaks us out." Makes sense. I would freak out too, being showed that I'm a freak all the way down to my DNA.

Wait a second... Something just clicked in my mind. "One sec," I said to Sophie, and ran over to where Gloria and Fay were chatting with Emily and Katie. "Guys, c'mere." I pulled Fay and Gloria by their arms over to another part of the room. For some reason I thought that what I wanted to say should be private.

Before they could protest, I said, "Guys, I think that Lea can read minds. Like Sophie."

"Yes, that makes so much sense!" exclaimed Fay.

"But what about us?" asked Gloria. "Oh wait, Lea had that injection thing. That's why her powers are starting to show and not ours!"

"Exactly!"

"You guys aren't being that discreet," said Tessa. "We can hear you."

I glanced at my friends, embarrassed. "Well, what do you guys think? Do you think Lea mind reading has powers?" asked Gloria.

Sophie, probably reading Gloria's memory or something, said yes, it was very likely.

Then the clock chimed and it was time for bed.